The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) study on Enbridge's Line 3 was commissioned by the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion, or APEX, a group that represents a coalition of business interests in northeastern Minnesota and the Duluth-Superior Twin Ports area. APEX CEO Brian Hanson is the media contact for the UMD study.
APEX requested the study from UMD in cooperation with Enbridge, the fossil fuel corporation that is proposing and who will build and use the Line 3 replacement pipeline. Enbridge is is a dues-paying member of APEX. Enbridge, who has a vested interest in the study's results, provided inputs for the UMD study.
APEX paid UMD $3,000 for the study. The study does not explicitly disclose that it was produced for a fee, or for how much. According to UMD, the current study is an update of a 2015 study that an Enbridge-hired consulting firm commissioned from UMD for $12,692.